Exercising system with trellis

ABSTRACT

An exercise system includes a lattice formed of vertical uprights and arms attached to the upright. An exercise device is disposed on the arms and allows a user to perform various exercises thereon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of Invention

This invention pertains in general to the exercising devices, and more particularly to a system that incorporates a portable and removable device and increases the range of exercises that can be performed with said exercise device.

B. Description of the Prior Art

Exercising has become a favorite pastime not only in the United States but all over the world. More people are engaged in this activity then any other types of leisure. Of course most exercises performed today require various types of devices. Initially most devices, such as for example, the jumping rope, were quite simple. Another simple exercise device consisted of a bar with a single elastic rope three or four feet long and extending between the two ends so that a person could hold the bar and push down on the rope with his feet. A variation of this device consisted of the elastic rope with two handles at the ends of the rope replacing the bar.

However none of these prior art devices were very versatile since they could be used only for a very limited number or kinds of exercises. Slowly, exercising devices progressed to a point were many of them are very complicated, hard to use, expensive, and generally uncomfortable to use. Many of the present day devices consist of various combinations of mechanical devices such as support surfaces, seats, chairs, wheels, chains, ropes, pulleys, weights, bar bells and oddly shaped rods. A person from the Middle Ages would immediately recognize these devices for what they really are: torture tools.

As the size and complexity of these devices increased, they became more and more complicated to use, require a large space, special instructions, and very often should not be used without the supervision of specially trained professional personnel. Moreover, the devices may also require electrical power and are hazardous.

All these factors increase the cost of the devices to the point were they can be afforded only by very rich persons, and/or can be used only in gyms or health spas. Moreover, despite of, or possible because of their complexity, these devices can be used to perform only one exercise, or even if they are adaptable to more than one exercise at a time and require extensive and time consuming changes in configuration before they can be switched over to a different exercise. However, performing the same exercise over and over again is extremely monotonous and takes a lot of perseverance to continue More importantly, a single exercise is beneficial only to a limited number of muscles, and at the same time. Performing the same exercise for a long time is detrimental because it tires the addressed muscles, while other muscles are neglected.

In my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,776,041 and 6,048,291 I described an exercise device that consists of five major components: a bar and four flexible, elastic members made of a pliable material. Preferably the flexible members are provided at their ends with loops or other limb engaging elements for engaging the foot or the hand of the person as shall be described in more detail below, depending on the type of exercise that is to be performed. Preferably a sheath covers the bar and the elastic members are all attached to the sheath. The sheath and the elastic members can be molded from a rubber-type material to form a single integral unit. Two of the members may be elongated and have a cross section which changes gradually from the bar to the handles. Preferably this cross section gradually increases thereby providing an increased resistance generated by the two members when they are partially rolled on the bar.

Since I have developed these devices I have discovered that while they are very useful in performing many exercises, they are difficult to use to perform certain stretching and other types of exercises that require the devices to be held stably from a stationary structure. Therefore I have developed a system for facilitating these types of exercises using my device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, an exercise system constructed in accordance with this system includes a lattice of vertical members, arms secured to the bars and spaced and arranged to selectively and removably hold exercise devices of the kind described above. Brackets may be used to secure the lattice to a wall and/or ceiling. The exercise devices can be placed on different sets of arms at will to allow a user to perform a selected exercise. At the completion of the exercise, the devices can be removed and placed on a different set of arms, or used freely, without the need for the arms

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a somewhat diagrammatic front view of the exercise device described in my previous patents;

FIG. 2 shows an orthogonal view of a lattice used in the subject exercise system; and

FIG. 3 shows a partial front view of the lattice with several exercise bars disposed thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to provide a better understanding of the invention, a simplified description is first provided of my original exercise device in conjunction with FIG. 1. The exercise device 10 includes a bar 12 with four dependent elastic members: two short members 14 and two long members 16. The members 14, 16 include loops 18 can be grasped to allow a user to pull on the respective members. The bar 12 is provided at its two ends with respective handles 20. Long members 16 are preferably tapered as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows a lattice 30 constructed in accordance with this invention. The lattice consists of several upright or vertical members 32. These members can be equal in length to the height of a room or can be shorter but should not be shorter than about 6 or 7 feet to allow users of different heights to use the system. The members 32 are spaced at about 2 or 2½ feet laterally from each other. Vertical members support a plurality of horizontal members or arms 34A, 34B, 36A, 36B, 38A, 38B arranged in pairs at predetermined heights. Horizontal members can be secured to the vertical members by screws (not shown) or other well-known means. In order to insure that the lattice is stable during exercises, it is provided with brackets 40 that secure the lattice to a wall (not shown). Alternatively, or in addition, the lattice may also be secured to a ceiling by well known means. In order to increase the stability of the lattice, a structural bar 44 may be provided that extends horizontally and is attached to each of the vertical members 32.

The complete exercise system is shown in FIG. 3. In this Figure only three upright members 32 are shown and the member 44 is omitted. As can be seen in this figure, one or more exercising devices 12 can be positioned on top of one of the pairs of arms, preferably just behind the upright members 32. The devices 12 can be just seating on the arms, or can be secured to the arms by ropes, rubber bands (not shown), or by wrapping the long members around the arms, as shown in FIG. 3 at 41. The devices 12 can be positioned on different arm pairs so that they are at different heights. A person can then perform various exercises using the devices on the arms. The length of the arms 34A, 34B etc. is selected to insure that the devices 12 can be properly seated. The arms can be the same length as the brackets 40. In fact, the devices 12 can also be placed on brackets 40. The upright members, arms and brackets can have square, circular, oval or any other type of cross-section.

It should be noted that several people can exercise on the system at once, each being positioned between two uprights 32. Once each person completes his set of exercises, he can remove the exercise device 12 and due other exercises with it.

While most of devices 12 are shown in the Figures as being mounted horizontally, they can be mounted vertically as well, as shown in FIG. 3 at 12A. The device 12A is secured two to brackets (not shown) by any known means including its own straps (not shown).

Numerous modifications may be made to this device without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. An exercising system comprising: a lattice formed of a plurality of upright members, means for supporting said upright members and a plurality of arms arranged in pairs; and an exercise device extending between at least one pairs of arms and removably resting thereon.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein said exercise device includes a stiff bar having two ends and a central segment extending therebetween; two straps made of an elastic material, each having first and second strap ends, said first strap ends being secured to said central segment; and two handles secured respectively to said-second strap ends, said handles being arranged and constructed to engage the limb of a user to allow said user to perform an exercise routine.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein said wherein a resistance generated by said straps can be changed by wrapping portions of said straps on said bar.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein said cross section increases from said first to said second end thereby increasing said resistance as said straps are wrapped on said bar.
 5. An exercising device system arranged and adapted to allow a person to perform a number of different routines, said system comprising: a lattice formed of a plurality of uprights, brackets supporting said uprights and a plurality of pairs of arms, each arm of a pair being disposed on adjacent uprights at the same height; and an exercising device including a substantially stiff bar having two opposed ends and a central portion disposed between said opposed ends; two bar limb engagement members disposed at said ends for engagement with the limbs of a person; and a first flexible member having one section attached to said central portion and an end with a flexible member limb engaging member, said flexible member having a cross section which changes gradually from said central portion to said flexible member limb engaging member, said device being removably disposed on one of said arms.
 6. The device system of claim 5 further comprising a second flexible member similar to said first flexible member.
 7. The device system of claim 6 wherein said flexible members are elastic.
 8. The device system of claim 7 wherein said bar limb engagement members include loops made of a flexible material.
 9. The device system of claim 7 wherein said flexible limb engagement member includes a loop sized and shaped to fit a hand or a foot.
 10. The device system of calim 5 wherein said device is disposed substantially horizontally.
 11. The device of claim 5 wherein said device is disposed substantially vertically. 